National Sovereign SanctuaryAncient and Primitive Rite of Memphis-Misra´mfor the United States and Jurisdictions

More than 200 years
old, this Rite still engenders lively interest and enjoys important
developments on an international level. Faithful to its founding
principles, it affirms itself as a Rite that is traditional,
symbolic and spiritualistic, and associated with the principles of
tolerance and liberty.

Upon entering into the Ancient and Primitive Rite of Memphis
Misra´m, one places a foot on the path of tradition, with respect
for human values and tolerance. This Rite is characterized by an
initiatic quest founded on:

A spiritualistic and deist orientation,

A vocation to preserve and to transmit the philosophical
reflection on symbols of Ancient Egypt and the different currents
that have marked our civilization (Hermetic, Gnostic, Kabbalistic,
Templar and Rose+Croix)

An open and reflective search for a better understanding of
oneself and of humanity.

Man, you have two ears to hear the same sound,Two
eyes to discern the same object,Two hands to execute the
same act.In the same way, the Masonic Science, Science
par excellence,Is esoteric and exoteric.Esoterism constitutes thought,Exoterism,
structure.Exoterism is a given, self-taught,
self-learned;Esoterism is none of these:It
comes from on HIGH

(Proclamation of the Grand Constitutions of the Ancient and
Primitive Rite of Memphis-Misra´m)

Such is the spirit of traditional Masonry for which, in every
act, there is both the visible and the invisible, the positive and
the negative, a fleeting, perhaps even non-existent, present,
already bearing the seeds of the future.

Freemasons of this rite are invited to think. An apprencticeship
and a methodology are proposed that are founded on the knowledge of
symbols, living tools that, in a constant dynamic, call into
question all that has been acquired. Thus, according to the
tradition of the Rite, the Mason ôworks the stoneö again, always
refining the perceptions and developing discernment. It addresses
the interior of each in a rich, intimate experience that through
resonance jostles the exterior while causing the perceptions and
vision of the world to evolve, because the Mason has begun the
greatest possible adventure, the conquest of the self.

Among the Masonic Rites, this Rite has occupied a particular
position since its origin. It has its place among the Egyptian rites
that drank from the source of the ancient initiatic traditions of
the Mediterranean basin: Pythagoreans, Alexandrian hermetic authors,
neo-Platonics, the Sabbeans of HarrÔn, Ismaelies ... It was
necessary to wait until the XVIIIth century to find any traces in
Europe. These rites were numerous but only two among them came to
us: Misra´m and later Memphis. These two would associate and then
merge under the influence of General Garibaldi in 1881.

The Rite of Misra´m

Since 1738, one can find traces of this Rite filled with
alchemical, occult and Egyptian references, with a structure of 90
degrees. Joseph Balsamo, called Cagliostro, a key character of his
time, known how to give it the impulse necessary for its
development.

Very close to the Grand Master of the Order of the Knights of
Malta, Manual Pinto de Fonseca, Cagliostro founded the Rite of High
Egyptian Masonry in 1784. He received, between 1767 and 1775, from
Sir Knight Luigi dĺAquino, the brother of the national Grand Master
of Neapolitan Masonry, the Arcana Arcanorum, three very high
hermetic degrees. In 1788, he introduced them into the Rite of
Misra´m and gave a patent to this Rite.

It developed quickly in Milan, Genoa and Naples. In 1803, it was
introduced by Joseph Marc and Michel BÚdarride. During this period
of time, the Rite recruited not only aristocrats but Bonapartists
and Republicans, and sometimes even revolutionary Carbonari.

It was forbidden in 1817, following the business of the Four
Sergeants of La Rochelle and the uneasyness caused by the Carbonari.
It became the meeting-place of opponents to the regime. This
progressively let to its decline. Toward 1890, the last Masons of
the Rite regrouped in the only remaining Lodge: Arc-en-Ciel.

The Rite of Memphis

Constituted by Jacques Etienne Marconis de NŔgre in 1838, the
Rite of Memphis is a variant of the Rite of Misra´m. It takes the
Egypto - alchemical mythology and completes it with pieces borrowed
from the Templars and chivalry.

The Rite of Memphis attracted personalities in quest of an ideal.
It knew a certain success among military Lodges until 1841; the date
where it was put to sleep. But, with the dismissal of Louis -
Philippe in 1848, the Rite was reactivated.

In England, from about 1850 numerous English Lodges worked the
Rite of Memphis in French. They maintained celebrity for having
welcomed ardent Republicans (Louis Blanc, Alfred Talandier, Charles
Longuet and Joseph Garibaldi, (honorary member)). In 1871, the crash
of the Commune of Paris contributed to a decrease in Lodges that
would further decline around 1880 following the declaration of
amnesty of the new French republican government.

In Egypt, from 1873, the Rite of Memphis developed quickly, under
the direction of Brother Solutore Avventure Zola, Grand Hierophant
until the reign of king Farouk.

In the United States, Marconis de NŔgre implanted the Rite around
1856. There was a noticeable emphatuation, particularly under the
Grand Mastery of Brother Seymour in 1861.

The Rite of Memphis-Misra´m

In 1881, General Garibaldi was preparing to fuse the two Rites,
which would be effective as of 1889. From this moment, the Rite of
Memphis-Misra´m became implanted on the many different continents of
the world.

To be received as a Freemason in the Rite of Memphis-Misra´m, it
is necessary to meet the following conditions:

You must be at least 21 years of age

You must express a belief in a Supreme Being

Administration

You must submit a hand-written letter of intent accompanied by
your resumÚ

You must submit 2 copies of either your birth certificate or
passport

You must submit 2 passport-sized photographs

The personal part

You must have been questioned by several Brothers or sisters

You must have satisfactorily answered the questions posed

You must have been accepted by the Lodge at the time of your
“going under the blindfold”

Masonic engagement also implies the involvement in the
development, conservation and maintenance of the administrative
structures. This makes it necessary for an annual contribution,
which is called “The Capitation.”